Naruto 1. The First Step

The sun rose high over the huge bubble of granite that was the Konoha Mountain, the sun beams turning the whole thing into a glittering cascade of yellows and oranges. The wind blew through the trees, creating the quiet sound of leaves rustling. All in all, it was a perfect day, the tempature was hot enough to create a warm tingling on the skin and breeze cool enough to prevent it from becoming uncomfortable. The perfect mixture.

The smell of fresh food being cooked and the sound of merchants peddaling their goods filled the air around the Konoha . The people of Konoha were going about their own business, with no reason to think anything might be less than perfect on this day. Of course theres no such thing as a perfect day, as Naruto was about to show them.

Naruto had already finished painting the First's, Second's, and Fourth's heads. They were now works of halarity rather than solumn faces just staring at the village.

Soon people took notice of his maniacal laughing and began to yell up barely distinguishable threats and insults. Naruto could, of course, not leave without giving at least one response to his critics.

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS! NONE OF YOU GUYS COULD DO SOMETHING THIS HORRIBLE! BUT I CAN! I AM INCREDIBLE!" He yelled haughtily, a triumphant grin spread across his face. Returning to his work, he quickly moved to finish the last design. He had saved the best for last, and was looking forward to his Jiji's look of shook when he saw what Naruto had done to his face. Naruto could just see the look of shock, it was going to be priceless.

LB!

The Hokage was sitting in his chair, filling out paperwork, when he felt a sudden urge to look behind himself and look at the Hokage Monument. Getting up and shuffling out onto the balcony, he looked up at the faces. His pipe dropped from his lips and he was struck silent. Then he raised his hands and head to the sky and dropped to his knees. His hands curled into fists as he shouted loud enough to be heard in Earth country. "NAAAAARRRRRUUUUUTTTTOOOOOOOO OOO!"

LB!

Naruto was shaken from his day dreams when he realized that was a little to real for his own liking.

Looking down he was very much surprised to see his sensei screaming at him. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN' DURING CLASS TIME? GET DOWN HERE YOU MORON!" And, with that, Naruto knew his time was up. The only person who ever caught him after a prank was Iruka. Sure, sometimes they would have proof that he did it, but they wouldn't catch him until he decided it was time to see the Hokage. He knew the city too well after years of dodging drunkards. Iruka seemed to always know where he would be hiding out. Naruto still didn't know how he did that.

Naruto began to pull the swing up as several ninja begin to run up the mountain face, a few others circling around. Just as he made it to the top, he cut the rope with a rusty kunai, letting the swing and paint buckets drop onto the approaching ANBU. The ANBU, of course, dodged the dropping objects, but they couldn't do anything about the surprising amount of paint that the buckets carried. Not a single one made it past untarnished, and a few of the more unfortunate ones were hit in the face, many different splashes of paint covering their mask and hair. Naruto couldn't help but laugh louder at this, though he did start moving a bit faster. Angry ninja were not a good thing to be caught by, and he did have his record to uphold.

Naruto kept moving and quickly managed to outmaneuver the several Chuunin and higher ninja that had made it onto the mountain. It was only after he had just finished masking his trail and misdirecting the ninja chasing him towards the town that he felt a presence hit the ground behind him.

Sighing in defeat, Naruto spoke quietly, "Okay, Iruka, you caught me, shall we settle this with the usual?"

A trademarked smirk formed on Iruka's face. "I think we can both assume I will win, you haven't beaten me yet." The teacher taunted, enjoying his pupil's seemingly ceaseless determination.

Naruto turned. "There's a first time for everything Iruka-Sensei."

They both took stance. He brought his fist down three times in quick succession, revealing an open palm when the dust cleared. Iruka smiled, his index and middle fingers were spread out with the other three curled into his palm.

"Scissors beats paper, Naruto."

"YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Iruka smiled as Naruto sat down with his hands behind his back, grumbling all the while about cheating teachers. Iruka quickly tied his hands and then grabbed his shoulder. They disappeared in a shunshin.

LB

Naruto slammed into the ground, the world still spinning and blurry. Being dragged along by someone else in a shunshin was not fun. Naruto prepared himself for the lecture that was coming, and he didn't have to wait more than a second or two.

"Tomorrow is the Ninja School's Graduation Exam. You have failed the last two times. Even with your early admittance, if you fail this time, you will be behind your peers…Is that what you want? This is no time to be causing trouble, moron." The scarred teacher remorselessly smacked the blonde head.

Naruto just scoffed "Yeah, yeah".

Iruka frowned, unhappy with his pupil's apathy. "Time for a class review test on the 'Henge No Jutsu', better known as the Transformation Jutsu in the field. Everyone line up. Transform into me. Try to do it perfectly." He said, staring straight at the boy on the floor.

The students stood and lined up and began to transform one-by-one. Naruto waited his turn as he ignored the insults and blame directed his way. When his name was called and his turn came, he walked up and began the Jutsu. There was a surge of chakra that surprised even Iruka, and then a cloud of smoke. From its depths, a provocative and older female version of Naruto emerged. With a giggle and wink, Naruto blew his sensei a kiss. Iruka inadvertently unleashing the closet pervert buried within, momentarily, forgot what had occurred; a dazed look spread across his face. It was at that time Naruto chose to dispel the Jutsu. Naruto's laughter filled the room, as Iruka regained control of himself. "I call it: Sexy No Jutsu"

Iruka, in a futile bid to regain some dignity, yelled "YOU DUMB-ASS! DON'T INVENT STUPID JUTSU!" As he launched into another lecture, Naruto zoned out, and calling it a day in his head.

Naruto scrubbed the monument in a circular motion, slowly scrubbing off the paint he had left from his former prank. Iruka stood watch over him. It he didn't, the boy would escape and wreak havoc upon another part of town. "I won't let you go home until all of it is clean. And I mean all of it." Iruka threatened the bored boy hanging from the mountain side.

Naruto froze at those words before dipping the brush he had been using into the water pale and scrubbing even more profusely then last time. "Like I care, it's not like I have anyone to go home to." He replied, bitterness underlining the usually cheerful voice.

Iruka paused for a couple moments, thinking over a few things as Naruto continued to work. "Naruto."

The boy glared at Iruka with piercing blue eyes and spoke angrily. "Now what?"

Iruka paused a moment more, "Well... umm... If you clean all this up, I'll buy you some ramen tonight." The man sighed, relenting.

Naruto immediately brightened up. "Okay! I'll work hard! I will!" With a renewed effort and motivation, Naruto set to work once more.

LB!

Later, at Ichiraku Ramen, Iruka spoke as Naruto filled his mouth with scrumptious miso ramen. "Naruto?" Taking the muffled grunt as an indication the boy was listening, he continued. "Why were you doing that to the monument? Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

Naruto swallowed and stopped eating momentarily. "Of course! Basically, those that receive the Hokage name are the strongest in the village, right? And among them is the Fourth, a hero that saved the village from a fox demon."

Naruto dug back in again as Iruka took a turn at speaking. "Then why?"

Naruto pointed his chopsticks at Iruka speaking though he had food in his mouth "One day, I'm going to get the Hokage name, and then I'm going to surpass all the previous Hokage! Then I'll make the village recognize my strength!" Naruto paused before looking beseechingly at his sensei. "By the way, Sensei, I have a request"

Iruka looked on in surprise "What, you want seconds?"

Naruto looked for a moment like he had a conflict raging within himself before continuing on. "Yes, but that's not the request." Naruto hesitated for a few more seconds. "Can I borrow your Leaf head protector?"

Iruka grinned over at Naruto and touched his headband. "Oh, this? No, this is for after you graduate. This is a symbol that you've come of age. Maybe you'll get on tomorrow."

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "Stingy!"

Iruka rubbed his chin. "So that's why you took off your goggles." It was then that Naruto demanded seconds, and a small fight broke out between them. As they horsed around and joked the night away, Naruto would forget his problems, if only for the night.

LB!

Naruto sat in the back of the class, a soft murmuring enveloped the classroom. He could hear people talking, but all he could do was continue to spiral into an abyss of uncertainty. '_What if I don't pass this time? I don't want to be left behind again! Next year I probably won't have Iruka-Sensei either, which means I'll have no chance of getting any real help._

_But even with his help I usually can't keep focused when in the class. It's so STUPID! IF THEY AREN'T HOLDING ME BACK, I AM! Calm down man, just keep calm...'_

'_Okay, written test: failed, but not by too much a margin, I can make that up in the kunai and the Shurikan Test. I got that in the bag. Taijutsu, I can handle that, I won't score highly, but I can pass it. Genjustsu: failed, but the stealth test will redeem that. For the student specialty test, I'll show off my traps. It won't be the best thing they see, but it should get me through. Ninjutsu, it's gonna be make or break, no doubt. I can handle the Replacement Jutsu, even pass the Transformation Jutsu, but the Clone Jutsu will be my biggest obstacle. If I'm right, and I score how I think I will, it's all or nothing on that. I'll still be dead last, put I'll finally be a Genin, where hopefully I'll actually be taught something.'_

The written test went just as Naruto planned, if he failed, it was just barely. In the Kunai and Shurikan Test Naruto hit every target they asked of him even if it wasn't always a killing blow. Taijutsu he kept inside the ring for the requisite three minutes, even managing to hold out for an extra one. He gained many points for landing strikes but lost many more for getting hit. During the Genjutsu, he managed to break the one cast on him... after being trapped in it for thirty seconds, and his didn't even form, let alone distract the instructor. Throughout the Stealth Test, he managed to stay hidden in the target ground for ten minutes, as well as sneak up on the instructor three times. In the Student Specialty Test, he managed to set up three traps in the two minutes; they allotted him. It would have been more if Naruto hadn't gone with quality over quantity.

So it all came down to the final test. They all filed back into the classroom as Naruto once again got very nervous.

"Everyone will be called one at a time into the backroom where they will perform the academy three. Wait your turn, and when you hear your name come forward." Iruka began to call names, and it quickly his turn approached.

"Uzumaki, Naruto. Come forward." Naruto walked into the room and waited for his instructions.  
"Perform the Transformation Jutsu, followed by the Replacement Jutsu, and finish up with the Clone Jutsu."

Naruto formed the hand-signs and transformed into Iruka, it wasn't perfect, but he was pretty sure he passed it. He replaced himself with one of the chairs in the room, and he knew he passed that one. '_Please, let me get this one. Come on; I got this. BUSHIN!' _There was a gust of smoke, and the clone appeared for a second, before exploding in itself in another wisp of smoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Failed."

Naruto felt like he had been crushed. Even Iruka didn't think he had it in him.

"Iruka-Sensei, this is his third time, and he did technically create a clone, we could let him pass." A dim light shone before it was cruelly snuffed out by the next words to pass his Sensei's lips

Iruka let out a sigh and spoke. "No, Mizuki-Sensei. Everyone else was able to divide into three clones; Naruto only created one, and it was useless. I can't let him pass." Naruto glared at Iruka. The feeling of betrayal lurched in his stomach; he quickly walked out of the room.

LB

The crowd of people who passed quickly formed outside the school. Naruto walked through them swiftly and went to sit on a nearby swing. It was only a second later when he began to feel the glares of some of the adults in the crowd staring at him. He stared back defiant to their stares. He'd show them, he would. Anger and shame built inside of him until tears began to build behind his eyes. Naruto looked down, glaring at the ground. What good did it do to cry? None. Instead of being a little baby, there was so much more he should be doing. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and with one last look at that in a gust of wind, disappeared.

LB

On his way home, he ran into Mizuki-Sensei. "Naruto, come here for a second."

Naruto walked over and answered the lean, white-haired man. "Yes, Mizuki-Sensei?"

Mizuki began walking. "Follow me. I have something important to tell you."

Naruto sat on the balcony outside of a house beside Mizuki, as the odd man explained things that the blonde haired boy was not sure he should know. "Iruka-Sensei became a serious person when his parents were killed while he was young. He had to do everything himself."

Naruto scrunched up his face as he took the words into consideration. "But why does he only pick on me?"

Mizuki spoke softly. "He probably sees himself in you. He probably thinks that he wants you to become strong the right way. He wants you to earn what you want, without people just giving things to you. Try to understand Iruka's feelings, since you also have no parents."

Naruto looked down onto the people passing by. "But I still wish I had graduated."

Mizuki smiled "Well then, I'll tell you a special secret. I have been authorized to give you the Practical Test. You are given a basic mission, and you must complete it in the next three days. Your goal is to steal a scroll from the Hokages' house; you must get past any defenses they have put in place. It is then you will go to this clearing and master one of the Jutsu from the scroll. You will have a few hours to master the technique, before I show up. Once you perform the Jutsu, you will have graduated. Understand, Pass or fail, you will have to hand that scroll over to me once I come. Are you willing to accept this test?"

LB

Suffice to say, Naruto promised to complete the mission that night. He outlined his plan, infiltrated the location, had a skirmish with the Hokage, which Jiji let him win of course, got the scroll and got out. He could taste victory, all he had to do was get there, master the Jutsu, and wait for Mizuki.

Naruto breathed in heavily, barely able to stand. His limbs were sore and he was exhausted, but he had done it. He had mastered a Jutsu from the scroll. Just in time too, if he judged the sound of the footsteps correctly. Someone was getting closer.

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" Iruka waited a second before speaking once more. "Hey-" He was cut off by Naruto's loud voice.

"OH! I FOUND THE CLOSET PERVERT!" Naruto exclaimed joyfully.

Enraged, Iruka responded angrily. "IDIOT! I FOUND YOU!"

After a few moments, when they had both calmed down, Naruto started to speak. "You found me." He sighed. "I only learned one, but that's all I needed."

Iruka blinked in surprise. "You're all beaten up. What were you doing?" He asked, confusion and concern evident in his voice.

Naruto was beaming. "I had to complete the Practical Test, of course. So I mastered a Jutsu from this scroll Mizuki-Sensei told me about! He said if I performed one for him, I'd graduate!"

As smart and talented as young Sensei was, he was unable to place all the puzzle pieces together in time to save both him and Naruto. The sound of kunai split the air. The choice was obvious. He pushed Naruto out of the way.

Kunai after kunai hit him, he blocked what he could, and a few missed, but six kunai still connected with their target, lodging themselves in the teacher.

"Nice job finding him." Mizuki smirked, a mocking tone obvious in his voice.

Through the pain, Iruka could barely manage to talk. "I see, so that's what's going on." The young Sensei's eyes lit up with understanding.

Naruto blinked in confusion before getting it himself. "Naruto give me the scroll." Mizuki spoke in a commanding voice and waited for the other to comply. Iruka pushed off a nearby tree and stood next to Naruto, barely maintaining his ability to stand.

"NARUTO! DON'T GIVE HIM THE SCROLL, EVEN IF YOU DIE! That is a dangerous scroll that has ninjutsu sealed into it. Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

Naruto looked at Mizuki and Iruka in shock, unsure of what he should do.

Mizuki grinned. "There's no point in you having it, I guess I'll tell you the truth."

Iruka's complexion grew paler than his injuries should have accounted for. "NO DON'T!" He yelled out, desperate to stop the other from revealing a secret that could destroy all that had been sacrificed.

Mizuki pressed on, despite the interruption. "Twelve years ago," he began, "you know about the Demon Fox being sealed, right? Since that Incident a new rule was created for this village. However, Naruto, that rule was never meant to be told to you."

Naruto was silent as his brain hurled through the possibilities at faster and faster speeds than it had ever done before. He started noticing details and recalling information sooner than he would have thought plausible. He quickly figured out that whatever this rule was; it involved him, the Demon Fox, why the villagers hated him, and whatever had happened twelve years ago. The Fox had attacked on his birthday, so it must also involve his birth.

"The rule is that no one is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the Demon Fox."

His heart stopped. It all made sense, the hatred, the infrequent attempts on his life, the reason he couldn't go outside on his birthday, everything in his life suddenly made sense…  
"What do you mean?" Naruto stumbled backwards, unable to remain standing with his world crashing around him.

Mizuki continued his tirade, aware of the emotions that easily played across the young blonde's face. "You are the Demon Fox that killed Iruka's parents and attacked the village."

Iruka yelled for Mizuki to stop, but he just went on.

"You were sealed by the Hokage you admire, and you have been lied to by everyone."

Iruka continued to shout for Mizuki to stop as he watched every word hit Naruto like an assault on his very being.

"Didn't you find it odd how everyone hated you? IRUKA IS THE SAME! HE ACTUALLY HATES YOU!" And, with that, Naruto snapped as he felt a power well inside of him. "NOBODY WILL EVER ACCEPT YOU! THAT SCROLL WAS USED TO SEAL YOU!" A Windmill shurikan flew out of Mizuki's hand.

Naruto couldn't take this, all the little puzzle piece's fitting together. The hatred, the anger, the pain, the loneliness, all caused by something he never knew. He was what caused it, he was what made his own life so miserable.

Naruto noticed the speed and trajectory of the shurikan; it would hit his face unless he did something, unless he moved. But Naruto couldn't move, caught to much in the cycle of his life.

Iruka moved in front of him, putting himself at risk for Naruto. It was this move that snapped Naruto out of this, if Iruka was willing to sacrifice his own life potentially for him, then he could not possibly be the things Mizuki was saying. Naruto jumped, pushing down on Iruka's shoulders as he easily executed a handspring, smoothly flipping over his Sensei. The shurikan passed over Iruka, too closely for his preference and only just underneath Naruto. As he completed his landing, he continued to run forward as fast as he could. Just as he hit maximum speed, he leaped at Mizuki.

Mizuki stood where he was, assuming Naruto wouldn't actually make the height needed to attack him. He was correct, in a way. Naruto pulled out two kunai, and, just as he sailed underneath the tree limb, plunged them into the tree. He used the momentum to sling shot himself around the tree limb, his feet colliding into Mizuki's back.

They both fell towards the ground; each moving their bodies so they would land feet first. Suddenly, they sprung towards each other. Naruto ducked underneath a wild swing and plunged his kunai into Muzuki's side as he passed. It was only by pure experience that Muzuki got just out of range in time. Mizuki Slashed upward and Naruto stepped back just out of range as the kunai cut through the air inches away from his face. He could see Mizuki's moves almost before they happened, and instinctively knew how to move to avoid injury. It was like he had been fighting opponents like Muzuki for years.

It wasn't enough though; he just didn't have the strength or the speed to keep up, no matter how fast his brain was moving. A few moves later and Naruto had blood dripping from half a dozen scratches. "You have been hiding some amount of skill Kyuubi, but even if there were a hundred of you, you still couldn't beat me!"

Naruto broke their contact, jumping away from Mizuki. He began to form hand movements rapidly. "Yeah? How about a thousand of me?" He shouted, finishing the Jutsu.

Smoke filled the area between and around the trees, and, suddenly, there were hundreds of blonde haired, blue-eyed, and particularly annoying clones. Though his newly developed skill told him he had overshot by a few dozen, Naruto was at least still able to continue. Mizuki paled and went still.

"What's the matter, one too many of me? Well, I guess I better start things off." Mizuki would not be feeling too well when he woke up inside his cell in a few weeks.

Naruto left the defeated Mizuki where he lay, and ran over to Iruka to check on his sensei's well being. Though Iruka had been spared that last critical injury, his many other injuries still had taken their toll. A paler Iruka lay against a tree, which he had crawled to once he had seen Naruto could take care of the situation.

"Hey, Naruto, come closer and close your eyes for a bit." Normally that would be Naruto's queue to start running, but, since Iruka had tried to shield him from death, the least Naruto could do was humor him, if only this once.

A soft weight settled itself onto Naruto's head. "Sensei, may I open my eyes now?" He heard a soft chuckle.

"Yes, Naruto, you can open your eyes now. Congratulations, you are a official Genin." Naruto was too stunned to respond. "To celebrate this, I'll take you out. We can go for ramen!" Naruto tackled the still injured Iruka, happy to have finally graduated.

All good things can not last forever however. Having heard the fighting, ANBU had finally shown up, or decided to show themselves anyway. "Uzumaki-san, Hokage-Sama would like the scroll back, and also to talk to you on matter's most important." Naruto looked at his Sensei and opened his mouth to protest "It would also be prudent to get Umino-San some medical attention." Naruto closed his mouth and nodded in acquiesce.

The ANBU placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, whisking him off once more in the manner of travel Naruto liked least.

LB!

**10-21 Alright, I've fixed a few issues I had, eliminated one future plot hole and one or two details I missed. I also added a bit more description and fixed a major mistake I made with Naruto's character. IN these first few Chapters, Naruto is a master planner, much like Shikamaru. There are several issues here, One, Naruto is not Shikamaru, and I really was taking away Shika's strengths to add to Naruto. Two, It helps me to clarify what I meant by the fact that Naruto was an Instinctive Genius, and how his ability merely gives him the right course of action. Yes, he plans ahead a little, but not as much as I had him doing. Three, It made Naruto more manipulative, more cold, more calculating and that's not Naruto.**

Not a whole lot of changes, my first couple of chapters were so close to canon that there weren't a lot needed. There are a couple chapters I'm going to have to just destroy, and a few I might add in. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the new beginning.

**11-17 I had quite of help from my new beta, _ who I've unfortunately been neglecting. I'm in the top fourty of my company and I'm rocking a perfect A minus thats standing tall at 90 on the dot. Being a combat medic is amazing, I've learned so much in this last month and I've become very proud of the job I have chosen lol. Anyway, I've choosen to start combining the chapters, so that you get two for the price of one. This means it will be a much shorter journey to get to where I left off, and it's perfect because I didn't make that many changes so far. Though I kinda completely rewrote the last half of the bell test and got rid of the character bashing I had been doing subliminally. I relized that alot of this story refelcted alot of my state of mind well writing it. Only shallowly bright, with deep undercurrents of mistrust, paranoia, and anger. Alot of thinking that everyones out to get you and stuff. Thankfully, I'm past that... mostly. I hope you guys enjoy. I hope to have more than just the first eight chapters done by next week when I release this. Enjoy!**

11-23 Its taking everything I can just to wait one more day. I'm currently have everything up to Chapter 8 ready to go, and I'm really excited to see what you guys think of the new bell test. I like to think it's alot better than it was. I had alot of complaints about the first time around, and to be honest I don't blame them. I don't really know what I was thinking. Alas, I'm ahead of myself. I hope you have enjoyed chapter one, and I can't wait to show you the rest.  



	2. Explanations

Naruto sat in the Hokage's office as the man stared deeply at him. He was smoking on his pipe. They had been sitting there like that since Naruto had first entered a few minutes previously. The Hokage put his pipe down and placed his hands together on his table, leaning forward as he did so. "Naruto, would you mind telling me what happened? In your own words, of course." This was what was great about the Hokage, he never talked to him as though he was a child who needed to be babied or looked after. He always treated his as an adult and an equal.

Naruto did not break under the Hokage's stare, unflinchingly looking back into his Jiji's eyes. "Well…it pretty much happened like Iruka-Sensei told you: Mizuki-Teme tricked me, I took the scroll, Iruka-Sensei found me first, Mizuki-Teme tried to kill us, and beat the crap out of him using what I learned from the scroll, ironically enough."

The Hokage hesitated for a moment. "I'm more concerned with how you were able to keep up with a Chunnin's every move for a while. The difference in skill between a Chunnin and a Genin is almost as vast as the difference between an academy student and a Genin. I would never have bet on the academy student who failed three times, at least, not until you unleashed the Multi-Shadow-Clone Jutsu."

Naruto looked down and shifted uncomfortably. "You'll think this is nuts."

The Hokage put his pipe in his mouth. "Try me." He said encouragingly.

Naruto looked back up. "It seemed like…well it was kinda…I think it was…okay." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I just knew what I had to do. I was able to perform things I had just seen Chunnin do in spars, things I should not have not have been able to pull off on my first attempt in a real combat situation. It's like I knew what was important to take notice of, or what I needed to disregard. I was able to tell what Mizuki-Teme was going to do, just by the way he moved. I was just reacting perfectly to his every action. I just knew what I had to do." Once Naruto started talking he just couldn't stop. The Hokage listened to Naruto go into great detail about it all, but when he started repeating himself, the Hokage decided to interrupt.

"Naruto, that's enough. I think I know what happened, now be quiet, and please, do not interrupt me until I finish."

Naruto nodded, noticing the seriousness of the Hokage's tone.

"I think you've inherited your father's bloodline. And no, I will not be revealing his identity to you as of yet; you will have to wait until you are older, just as we discussed before." The Hokage interrupted himself before continuing. "Now, the bloodline usually doesn't activate until a time of great mental stress. I think learning the Shadow-Clone Jutsu, as well as learning about the Demon Fox, is what set it off.

"This bloodline starts off with increasing your reflexes, it also draws on past experinces to give you the best possible response to a given situation. As you grow and use your bloodline more and more, it will eventually become permanent, active at all times. It will also start giving insights to more than just the physical, you'll start picking up what your opponent is thinking, more or less. As you increase your experience and knowledge base, your bloodline will become more and more effective. Right now, judging from tonight, it gives you the ability to engage at a mid chunnin level, but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily win your fight. It just means you won't die immediately, so don't get complacent or start thinking your invincible"

The Hokage hesitated, as if wondering if he should add whatever he was going to say next. "There is something else, there is a chance as you get older that your thoughts and actions will be more and more instinctive. You might start making jumps in reasoning that others can not even begin to follow. This might make it harder for people to understand what you're trying to say or do. But that is awhile off I think, so you don't need to worry about it now.

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

The Hokage leaned forward. "Go home, rest, and remember to be on time to your team assigning tomorrow."

As the tired boy got up to do just so, a kid burst into the room, throwing shurikan and rushing forward. "OLD MAN! FIGHT ME!" The sudden intro, combined with his already tired body and mind, reactivated his ability. He watched as the child only made it two steps before tripping on his own scarf. Neither Naruto nor the Hokage moved an inch as all of the shurikan missed.

It was just a child, judging by the Hokage's obvious embarrassment, someone close to the Hokage as well. There was no threat. The bloodline faded away the second this was understood.

The child groggily returned to his feet."DAMN IT! Who set a trap?"

A man rushed towards him. "Are you alright? And there isn't a trap anywhere…"

Naruto got up to leave. "I KNOW! YOU DID IT!" The kid pointed at Naruto and closed in on the older boy, invading his personal space.

Naruto didn't take kindly to the accusation, grabbing the kid by the collar of his shirt. He wasn't going to take that from a child half his size. "YOU JUST TRIPPED ON YOUR OWN YOU IDIOT!"

The man started to panic a slight bit. "Hey, Naruto, let go of him. That's the Third Hokage-Sama's grandson!"

The kid merely grinned evilly at this, not knowing he had mistakenly challenged Naruto with such a smirk. "Go ahead and punch me." He further dared the boy holding him high above the ground by his shirt collar.

Without hesitating, Naruto pulled back a clenched hand and let go of the cloth, allowing his fist to collide with the boy's face as he screamed his frustration at the boy in front of him. "YOU THINK I GIVE A DAMN, MORON?" The kid fell backward as Naruto strode out of the room, angrily stomping around the corner as he began to make his way home.

LB!

That kid was really getting on Naruto's nerves. First off, he was following him, and badly at that. This normally wouldn't have bothered him, only this kid seemed to be Iruka-Sensei's apprentice or something, because Naruto had lost him seven times only for the kid to find him again five minutes later.

"Stop following me. What the hell is this? You aren't fooling anyone, idiot." The kid grinned as he lowered another poor attempt at hiding.

"Impressive, to see through this, the rumors about you are true." Naruto stiffened. "Hey, I'll let you be my boss, and in exchange…TEACH ME THAT SEXY NO JUTSU YOU DEFEATED GRANDPA WITH! PLEASE? Please, boss?"

Naruto thought about it There wasn't really a downside to this, besides the loss of time he could have spent sleeping. It was even beneficial, having someone want to learn something from him, it could lead to Naruto learning something as well. He was slowly regaining his normal self anyway, and was kinda feeling the need to do something. The kid would make a great energy burner "Alright. Follow me." Naruto didn't want to do this in public, he needed plausible deniability, and it would make it easier to... correct, his new student. A nearby clearing would do well, and Naruto knew just the spot.

LB!

Konohamaru was many things, but an idiot was not one of them. He had gotten down the jutsu aspect of it almost immediately, probably inheriting his grandfathers intellect. However his aesthetic choices left much to be desired. It had taken some time, but Naruto had gotten him to a certain understanding. They sat together on a log beside a spring. "By the way, why are you going after your Grandpa so much?"

The kid sunk down on the log depressed. "Grandpa gave me the name Konohamaru. I'm named after the village. But even though everyone is used to that name, nobody ever calls me that. Whenever anyone sees me, all they see is the Hokage's grandson. Nobody sees me as me, and I'm sick of it. That's why I want the Hokage name now."

Naruto dwelled on that thought for a few seconds before speaking. "IDIOT! Who would acknowledge a punk like you? The Hokage name isn't so easy that a brat could take it. It's not that easy moron. Hokage, Hokage. If you want it so much…THEN KICK MY ASS FIRST!" Konohamaru's response was cut off by a sudden arrival.

"AHA! I have found you." Needless to say, Naruto was not too happy by his arrival. "Now young master, let's go home."

He slowly walked over, but Konohamaru had enough. "NO, I'M GOING TO DEFEAT GRANDPA AND GET THE HOKAGE NAME RIGHT NOW! DON'T GET IN MY WAY!" The man continued to walk forward, slightly angry now.

"A Hokage must be well versed in all aspects of being a ninja and a leader. You must know over a thousand skills, when and how to use them. And then finally…" He never got a chance to finish as Konohamaru summoned a burst of chakra, and transformed into a strikingly voluptuous woman.

The man hesitated for a moment before quickly speaking, a small blush on his cheeks."What a vulgar low-class skill! Such a Jutsu will never work against me! Young Master if you hang out with the likes of him, you'll just turn stupid. Just do what I say. I am your easiest shortcut to becoming Hokage. Now let's go home!"

Naruto had more than enough. With the Jutsu he had mastered prior, he used the chakra within his body to form a swarm of clones and surrounded the man. "I am well aware of how you beat the traitor, rest assured I am a thousand times better than him, even with your magnitude of clones, you will not even make me bleed." He simply moved closer and began his second Jutsu, and in a move that would have defeated any living male, turned every clone and himself into a harem of women who all promptly began to rub themselves against him and each other, calling out very suggestive things to him. As the man turned into a puddle of blubbering idiot, one of the clone women hit him over the back of the head with a kunai, knocking him unconsciousness. The man seemed to flicker for a second before returning. That was weird. The clones were then dispelled, disappearing in a small cloud of smoke. A small nosebleed emerged from the downed man's nose. Naruto simply grinned in triumph. Though in all honesty... that had been a little to easy, disturbingly easy... There was no way he had... Na, Naruto was over thinking it.

"DAMN IT! I COULDN'T EVEN DEFEAT MY TUTOR! I REALLY WANT A NAME THAT PEOPLE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE! Why?" The youngest cried, anger and sadness overflowing in his voice

Naruto slapped the back of his head. "It's not that easy, dummy. This is the Hokage name, the name of the greatest ninja in the village. With so many bad things happening, I was often lost." Naruto said in a comforting voice. "I finally found someone that would accept me. That, by itself, was incredibly difficult. You better prepare yourself, if you want an incredible name like 'Hokage,' that everyone will acknowledge. There aren't gonna be any shortcuts."

Konohamaru turned away from Naruto. "You're right, but that means we're both rushing toward the same goal, doesn't it? From now on were rivals. Starting tomorrow, I'm taking my first step as a ninja. But one day, I'll fight you for the Hokage name."

Naruto grinned as Konohamaru turned back towards him. Laughing a small bit at the child's indecision "I'll be looking forward to it, Konohamaru."

Naruto turned and walked away, waving as he did so. The second he was out of sight a small voice behind him froze his blood. "Thank you Naruto-San for helping me teach him a very important lesson." Naruto jumped away and turned around kunai in hand to find... Nothing... Very scary. He had a long day tomorrow, it was best he got home.

LB!

The next day, Naruto entered the graduation class with the highest moral he had ever had on these grounds. He had done it, maybe not the conventional way, but he had done it. And now it was time to start his ninja career!

Naruto chose a random seat in the classroom and sat down, too excited to notice the familiar head of black hair sitting beside him. He had done it, and now the world was going to see the latest Hokage kick ass and take down enemy ninja before taking his rightful spot as leader of Konoha. In short, he was giggling like a little school girl, a little schoolgirl sitting next to her crush…

"Hey, Naruto. What the hell are you doing here? Only those who pass are supposed to be here." Still caught up in his daydreams, Naruto responded in his Hokage voice.

"Henchmen number 274, YOU DARE QUESTION YOUR HOKAGE?!" Needless to say, this was completely ignored by everyone around him. "I got the headband, don't I?"

"Hey, will you let me through?" Naruto looked up in disbelief, Sakura was speaking to him, and she wasn't threatening him! Clearly she had seen the error of her ways and wanted to sit next to the future Hokage! "NARUTO MOVE YOUR ASS! I WANT TO SIT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU!"

Completely crushed, Naruto glared at his rival.

"What?" Sasuke's cold voice squashed Naruto…Well that or because Sakura jumped on his back, slamming his face into the table.

"Sasuke-kun, may I sit next to you?" Sakura asked in a sweet, innocent voice. Sasuke's silence was taken as consent, and Sakura got off of Naruto's back taking the seat beside him.

_'Her eyes say it all... Seriously, I don't get it, what's so great about him?_

It was this though that prompted Naruto to get in Sasuke's face and glared at him, engaging in a battle of wills; who would look away first? "NARUTO! GET OUT OF SASUKE-KUN'S FACE!" _There it was again, that adoration, what was it about him that made them like him so?_

"Move" Sasuke growled out through gritted teeth, his eyes not breaking the glare, nor moving an inch.

"Make me." Naruto responded, challenged issued.

"SASUKE-KUN KICK HIS ASS!" The cheers of his fan girls were but a slight annoyance in this duel of wills. Naruto wasn't going to back down for nothing.

"WOW, REALLY?" The kid behind Naruto knocked his head back in wonder, knocking Naruto forward. Naruto's brain went into overdrive as he realized just what this would do considering his close proximity to Sasuke. He was already leaning on his toes with no way to stop himself. Calculating trajectory and force, he pushed himself off the table as he leaned his head down. The top of his head collided with Sasuke's face, causing the duckhead a nose bleed, but saving them from a potentially horribly embarrassing situation. His feet continued their arc, and he landed, standing on the table behind Sasuke and rubbing his head.

"NARUTO YOU BASTARD I'LL KILL YOU!" Sasuke yelled, as he clasped his hands to his noes. A few drops of blood leaked out from behind his hands. Naruto distracted by the pain his own head was feeling right now missed the glares that were being sent in his direction. When Naruto finally did notice, it had built to a point where he was probably going to be killed underneath a ton of adolecent females. Maybe not the worst death, if they let him die quick anyway...

"It…It was an accident! I SWEAR!" The glares promising a great amount of pain in his future only grew in intensity. Perhaps he should just frantically write his last will and testament.

Sakura stood up, perhaps she would defend him? Surely she would take pity upon his soul right? The angel of mercy would protect him! Yea, that what was happening! A small voice in his head told him he was dreaming. He ignored that voice in favor of his last life line to avoid being crucified by the righteous fury of the girls.

"Naruto... You're Annoying!" Sakura uttered, as she slowly approached. Normally, Naruto would of just taken the beating from his Sakura-chan without fighting back, as it was the closest he ever got to affection. He had seen couples in the street argue, or siblings fighting, or parents berating their children. Taking the time to correct someone meant you cared about them enough to try to help them. Sakura was one of the few people who showed at least some form of affection for him. Even if it was in a kinda fucked up way.

His bloodline activated as the stress of almost kissing Sasuke, his own already rapidly beating heart, people glaring at him, and now someone taking up arms against him. Sakura threw a right cross. His brain naturally showed him the path he had to take to avoid the attack. He side stepped the blow and watched it go by. As she swung around, with her left fist aimed at his stomach and her right arm locked in an arm swing, he simply ducked under both and let her body follow through the swing. Taking a step forward put him on the left side of her body, another step, and then one to the left put him back to back with her as she tried to swing around to attack.

That continued for a few moments, Naruto was simply too close for her to get a good angle on. For every step she took to get into a good angle, he took one that would negate the strike. This made her own shifting momentum unbalance her. She started to fall off the table, a small sound of fear escaping her throat. Naruto caught her, wrapping an arm around her waist as one hand prevented any damage from resulting from what the stop in momentum would do to her neck. This of course put them in a very romantic looking embrace. He looked away from her, still holding her in his arms.

It was then he noticed the second part of his bloodline, he was understanding people's emotions and feelings, surely he wasn't growing that fast was he? He could just simply look at someone and know how they felt. He took stock of the room and noticed that out of everyone in the room, there were only two people who were upset by this turn of events.

It wasn't any of the fan girls, as they had long since turned their attention back to Sasuke. It wasn't any of the guys, as most had stopped watching the second it was clear the fight was over.

Sakura was upset because she felt embarrassed about how easily Naruto had handled her. She was also a little impressed and dare he say it…turned on, by how easily he handled her. His closeness didn't help her blush either. Still anger became the overwhelming emotion in her mind. She would act on such impulse by sucker punching him in the chest. Naruto would never allow harm to come to any of his precious people, so he, of course, made sure to fall backward, allowing his own momentum to pull Sakura back into a stable position as he fell off the table.

The second expression, he only observed only on the way down, just as his bloodline faded away. He saw a few hints of envy, rage, hurt, and concern, all at once on her facial expression, while her body posture revealed no confidence and even a fear of being hit, someone who had almost given up. But her posture didn't look broken yet, just withdrawn. Distracted as he was by the girl, who he did now notice as slightly cute, he didn't take notice of the fact his own fall was going to inflict quite a bit of damage to himself. The speed and angle of his own momentum and body spread meant that his head was going to have a very unfortunate accident with the edge of another table. Very luckily for him, he was falling in just the right way to prevent any permanent damage, while the Demon Fox would fix the concussion and force him to regain consciousness in a number of moments. Unluckily for him, it wouldn't put the headache very high on its list of things to fix. With one final thought of Hinata, he welcomed the darkness.

* * *

**A/N Well here we are, chapter two. I hope you guys enjoy, and I can't wait to get further in!**


	3. Genin

Naruto was laying against his desk nursing the headache he currently had. "Beginning today you are all real ninjas." Naruto cracked open an eye to see Iruka standing in front of the class. "But you are still only rookie genin. The hard part has only just started." Iruka looked at each of his students, before moving onto the next part of his speech. "Now you will be assigned duties for this village. You will be initially assigned to be part of three ninja teams, lead by a Jonin sensei." _Yada Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah._

* * *

"You will follow that Sensei's instructions as you complete your assigned duties. We tried to balance each team's strength. Now Team one is" Naruto tuned him out, relying on the fact that his name would be enough to wake him from his "Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke" _ANYONE BUT HIM!_

"IRUKA-SENSEI! Why does a great ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum?" Iruka sighed and drew in a deep breath.

"Sasuke's grades were first among twenty-seven. Naruto, you were the worst. We have to do this to balance the teams, understand?" Sasuke scoffed and continued to look dead ahead.

"Just don't get in my way, Dead last" Naruto refused to take that lying down – from anyone.

"What did you call me?" Sakura's annoyance was made clear to him quickly.

"NARUTO! GIVE IT A REST!" She then proceeded to pound his skull.

'_Stupid bloodline... What If I wanted to dodge that one?'_

"Okay, this afternoon we'll introduce the Jounin Senseis. Take a break until then."

* * *

Naruto sat on a rooftop eating his lunch. '_So what now? Unless my bloodline comes on when I actually have the time and prompting to discover how Sakura-chan really feels, I'll have to keep guessing…If I could just figure out what she likes about me, I could make those things more prominent, and down grade the parts she doesn't. If she just gave me a chance, I think she'd accept those parts of me too. Anything she can't accept isn't important enough to keep anyway. But what about the Demon Fox?'_ He paused, lost in thought about what exactly that would mean._ 'I'll burn that bridge when I come to it!'_ He decided, digging into the lunch he had prepared for himself that morning. _'You know she has no problems telling Sasuke how she feels..._ A little jealous, he almost missed the best idea of all time. Almost.

* * *

Ambushing Sasuke-Teme was easy, he always underestimated him. Or perhaps he thought that he'd never be attacked in the middle of his own village... Either way, Sasuke-Teme was leaning against a window opening. Probably enjoying the draft the window was giving. There was his opportunity.

He went down without a fight. Once Naruto got behind him and had that rope around the unknowing black haired boy, it was quite simple to prevent any hand signs while over powering the bastard.

* * *

Naruto leaned against a tree staring at his Sakura-chan, he was happy to have found her, it was only a matter of time before Sasuke got free, and he didn't need him fucking it up. First things first was a cool entrance, and that required paitence. Sakura-chan finally looked up, and then blushed. Naruto took that as his cue to approach.

"You sure have a charmingly large forehead. Makes me want to kiss it." Her stunned look made Naruto melt. He let out an uncomfortable laugh. "That sounds like something Naruto would say." He said, looking away before he could gather enough courage to ask his next question. "Sakura, there's something I want to ask you…What do you think of Naruto?" Sakura looked down, and pondered before speaking.

"He's always getting in the way of my love. He enjoys seeing me struggle. Naruto doesn't understand a thing about me, he's just annoying. All I want is for you to acknowledge me. I'm serious. I would do anything, because I like you." She leaned forward to kiss him.

_'Ouch, that hurt... Maybe if I leave her alone a bit, she'll open up to me more, and maybe then she will actually see me. It's probably my only chance... But this... This is too good to pass up.'_

He wished he could have called their first kiss magical, and in a way it was, what got in the way was she thought she was kissing another person. That bittersweet feeling would forever taint the memory for Naruto. They finished their kiss as Naruto pulled away first.

"Sakura…I'm sorry, I'm just not ready for this kind of thing. I want you to pretend this never happened, even when we're alone. Maybe someday, I'll be ready to try this again, but for now... It's just not possible, understand?" Naruto felt crushed as he covered his tracks, and prevented Sakura from getting crushed by Sasuke. "In the meantime, get stronger, become the woman who can stand by my side."

Sakura's mood nose-dived. "I understand, Sasuke, and I will become that woman…I promise." But there was a look, a look in her eye that Naruto just couldn't read.

Naruto walked away not breaking character. Just as he turned the corner, he ran into Sasuke-Teme. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Sasuke let out a triumphant smirk. "Ninja can escape ropes. Remember that, Dead Last." Sasuke treated Naruto to another sucker punch, the second that day, before walking away. Naruto fell to the ground, holding his chest as he tried to suck in breath. God he was getting tired of that.

'_Must have been part of the classes I was always kicked out of. That might also explain a few of the damaged sections in my textbook or why on some days I was called to the principal's office BEFORE I did anything. Of course they wouldn't want me to learn that skill. That's the first thing I'll ask my Sensei about, jutsu that let you escape ropes.' _

Naruto picked himself up, and started the walk back to the academy. It was time to meet his sensei.

* * *

Naruto paced up and down the front of the classroom waiting for their new Sensei to arrive. Having had to have to wait two hours had already set him on edge. Especially considering that even after the earlier events of the day, he had still managed to arrive on time.

"Naruto stay still!" It appeared that his pacing was getting to her.

"Why is the Sensei of our team SO DAMN LATE? All the other teams have gone off with their teachers; even Iruka-Sensei has left." It was then that an idea struck the young trouble-maker, on one hand, he could get revenge against his teacher, and on the other hand he could test his Sensei's skills…So Naruto went ahead and ignored the possible ramifications a prank on his Sensei could have for his well-being.

"HEY, NARUTO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Naruto had started the set up of his trap. He had at first settled for the old eraser in the sliding door trap. But it had too many chances to fail; the teacher would have to open the door just right while sticking his head in. It just wasn't fool proof enough. So then he settled on a water balloon launcher with a simple trip wire system. But it just didn't seem like enough, so he added in multiple angles of attack. A trip wire would mean he'd have to hit the wire, which might be harder, maybe a wire trigger set to launch when the door was slid further open. Yes that was the right approach. No matter how good he was, he'd have to open the door right?

The next person to open the door would have to dodge the numerous and well thought out trap. But this guy was a Jounin, right? So he would be used to dodging multiple projectiles like it was nothing. Maybe if he took them out of his line of sight it would be more effective. So he hung the launchers from the roof! Finally, just for added effectiveness he sat himself a few feet away from the door, so as to set himself up as a momentary distraction.

"That's what you get for being late."

Sakura was both impressed and a bit disturbed by how effective a simple prank trap had suddenly become. But even then, she wouldn't take the fall for Naruto. "Geez…I'm not involved!" She put her arms on her hips and waited as Naruto just sat there, grinning madly.

Naruto spotted a hand opening the door as the man stepped in. The trigger went off and the balloons launched. Naruto had a fleeting impression that his new target was rather impressed, and though his muscles tensed he didn't move as the five launchers went off; each firing three balloons. The man was completely soaked, and though he was slightly annoyed, he just stood there.

Normally Naruto would have started gloating at this point, but he had the feeling his Sensei had let himself get hit…

"I'm so sorry Sensei; I tried to stop him but Naruto, but…" Sakura faded off as she noticed her Sensei had simply put a hand to his chin.

"Hmm…How can I say this…My First Impression is…I don't like you guys! Meet me on the roof in five minutes." And with that, he turned on his heels and left.

* * *

"Okay, let's begin with some introductions."

Naruto wasn't the only one to hesitate, but it was Sakura that ended up breaking silence first. "What do you want to know?"

"How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that." Once again, Naruto wasn't the only one to hesitate, but before he could take the initiative, Sakura beat him to it again. "Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Sakura nodded

"Yeah…you look suspicious." The blonde muttered suspiciously.

Their Sensei just looked bored. "Ohh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmmm…Well, I have lots of hobbies."

It was almost needless to say that none of them looked happy with that introduction. "Now it's your turn, from the right."

Naruto gave a small smile "My name is Uzumaki, Naruto. I like cup ramen. What I like even more is Ichiraku's Ramen. What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the cup ramen to cook. My dream…IS TO SURPASS THE HOKAGE! AND THEN HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE OF THIS VILLAGE ACKNOWLEDGE MY EXISTENCE! Err…I guess pranks are my hobby." Naruto had only given information that was irrelevant or already known, having followed his Sensei's example.

"Next." Kakashi said, pointing, instead, at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. I don't want to use the word 'dream.' I have an ambition: The resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man." Throughout his little speech, Naruto began to get a bad feeling that still clung to him even when Sasuke stopped speaking.

"Okay, then…And lastly the girl." I'm Haruno, Sakura. The thing I like is…Well…the person I like is…Umm, should I say my dream for the future?" Sakura let out a small shriek, which Naruto had previously thought only happened in stories. Just what was she dreaming of?!

"The thing I dislike is Naruto. My hobby is…" Naruto stopped listening at that point. It was one thing to decide to give a girl some space, it was another thing for her to bad mouth you so soon after the fact.

"We will start our duties tomorrow. First, we are going to do some survival training, just the four of us." Sakura looked a bit confused by that part.

"Why is our duty training? We did enough training at the Ninja Academy." Kakashi continued to give off the feeling that he was bored out of his mind.

"I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal training." Kakashi started laughing at that, immediately setting Naruto on guard.

"What's so funny Sensei?" Clearly Sakura wasn't picking up the same danger signals Naruto was.

"It's just that when I tell you this, you guys are definitely going to flip. Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent." Naruto began to freak out; he hadn't even passed the actual exam. "I told you, you'd flip. Anyway, tomorrow you'll be graded on the training field. Bring all your Shinobi tools. Oh, and skip breakfast; you'll throw up." Naruto trembled as he continued to think about all this.

'_I can't fail here. I'll have to kick Kakashi-Sensei's ass and have him recognize my true strength. That's the only way.' _

"The details can be read on this printout. Don't be late." He handed them two printouts before leaving. Naruto scanned his before handing it over to Sakura before getting up and leaving. His strategy session began now.

* * *

Naruto paced around his apartment deep in thought.

'_What do I know about Kakashi-Sensei? He was late meeting us and when he was hit by my prank he was momentarily surprised. But he seemed ready to move almost instantly. Even though he definitely saw and reacted to the prank faster than I expected, he didn't make a move or even the beginning of one. So he definitely chose to allow himself to get hit…I have no idea why though. He is definitely devious._

'_He didn't tell us a lot about himself. Either he's a private person, or he expects us to fail his exam therefore making our knowledge of him irrelevant…He was also really lazy. All the other Sensei's took their students away from the academy; he couldn't even be bothered to leave the building. He also was under prepared…he only brought two fliers…Maybe he didn't know I had graduated until today, but wouldn't they have told him first thing? So the fact he only had two makes it more likely because he's lazy._

'_I bet he won't even survey the grounds before the test! I can go out there now and prepare ahead of time! But someone might get caught in one of those traps, and the last thing I need is someone getting trapped overnight…So I'll bring the gear out tonight, stash it in a safe location, and I guess I'll just have to work quickly once the test starts._

'_The printout told us not to eat beforehand, but he's lazy so whatever he does probably won't be too strenuous…I'll pack myself some food and keep it in my bag just in case…I can even bring some for Sakura, but I'll make sure hers is large enough for two people, since she'll probably give some to Sasuke-Teme anyway…That's everything then…All I really have to do is show up now._

Naruto's head hit the pillow almost before he finished that thought, and he was out in a matter of moments.

LB!

"Hey, guys, good morning!" Kakashi had seemingly appeared out of nowhere; this however did not prevent Naruto and Sakura from seamlessly making their disappointment known.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Kakashi just walked over and placed a clock on the stump and activated the timer.

"Here are two bells. Your task is to take one from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon, get no lunch. I'll tie you to one of those stumps and eat right in front of you. You only need to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to a stump. And the person who doesn't get a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the academy. And I'll even let you use your shurikens. But remember, you won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill."

Sakura began to freak out over the very thought of having to kill her new sensei. "BUT, YOU'LL BE IN DANGER!"

Naruto laughed at that, but not for the reason everyone would assume. It was laughable to think that he would really get hurt, or that anyone could get a bell without his permission. It was obvious that the bells would only be given if they suitably impressed him.

"In the real world those with no talent often bark the loudest. Well, ignore Mr. Dead Last and start when I say…"

Naruto had taken more than enough, he quickly drew his kunai, spinning it to add inertia as he flicked his arm, stopping the kunai's rotation and transferring that speed into forward momentum. Almost faster than he could see, Kakashi snatched the kunai out of the air and disappeared from sight. Naruto's arm was pulled behind his back as his own kunai was held against his head, while the man's other arm had a grip in his hair.

"Slow down, I haven't said 'Start' yet…Well it seems like you're prepared to come at me with intent to kill. So you must have finally acknowledged me, huh? I think I'm beginning to like you guys. Okay, let's get going. Ready, set… 'Go.'"

"The first rule of the Shonobi is to hide yourself, blending into the darkness so that no one knows where you begin and the shadow ends."

Shadow's huh, not a bad idea. Creating a shadow clone to engage the Jounin, and one to take Sakura-Chan her food, he sat down to eat his own meal nearby. He watched Kakashi-Sensei fight his clone, analyzing everything the Jounin did. The clone had tried to antagonize him, which had been a failure. But then Kakashi-Sensei had pulled out a book, which completely infuriated the clone, causing him to quickly engage in battle. As he thought, without his bloodline he'd never get close to the Jounin.

Watching the clone get caught from behind was embarrassing, considering it had all of his skill and the same mindset as him. It was like getting a chance to watch what you were going to do before it happened. With his clone destroyed, Naruto had a brief feeling he had just seen the whole scene from the clone's perspective, including the pain it had suffered from that last Jutsu. But instead of letting it bother him, Naruto just brushed it off as him having too much an active imagination. Still the anger of that bore into him, and he threw two shuriken from his hiding place. Knowing that it would do nothing but reveal his hiding place, he quickly moved on without waiting for the result.

Naruto made a few more dozen clones and had them begin to encircle the clearing before he joined them himself. Kakashi didn't even look up as he continued to read. Naruto darted through the clearing and jumped into the air, using gravity and momentum to increase the force of his punch. Kakashi caught his fist as though it was nothing, throwing him into the river. When Naruto hit the cold water, it was like the freezing liquid jump started his mind. Grinning, he created more clones and crawled from the river. Feigning that he was coughing up water, he stayed on his hands and knees. Kakashi would be his.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell by noon, you won't have lunch…You know, you sure are weak for someone who's going to surpass the Hokage."

Naruto just sat there waiting. Kakashi drew a bit closer, bending down to look him over._ 'I'm going to make him acknowledge me. I must become a ninja.'_

Seven clones jumped from the water, all from a different angle. As the attacked, Naruto secured the man's legs, preventing his movement, or escape. Naruto noticed when Kakashi cast the replacement Jutsu just in time. He grabbed the clone's shoulders, using him as a springboard, and pushed both his clone and Kakashi off balance. His clones split up, four jumped into the air, while the other two darted away from the group, drawing kunai as they looked for a good angle. Kakashi hit the ground just as the four airborne clones neared the ground themselves. The clone held by Kakashi dispelled himself, four fists continued toward his face.

Kakashi proved his worth of the Jounin title as he pushed himself off the ground and into a handstand, his feet dispelling two of the clones. The other two hit the ground, already trying to tackle Kakashi. The Jounin merely performed a simple back hand spring, distancing himself just as two kunai whizzed past him, hitting the two clones that were occupying the space he had just been. More clones jumped into the clearing, and Kakashi had to put his book away as clone after clone filled the clearing.

Naruto got the feeling his clones had all had the same idea to create a dozen more clones, which lead to the massive wave of orange that was now heading towards Kakashi. He did a quick count; a number of 156 clones, plus himself, all moving towards Kakashi's location from every angle imaginable.

Kakashi threw eight shuriken, dispelling the closest clones. Naruto's bloodline saw the blur speeding out of the encircling cloud and quickly left the clearing himself as the remaining clones met in the smoke. they began to fight one another in the thick smoke…At least that's what Naruto imagined was happening as he was supplied with images of the smoky clearing with dozens of shady figures fighting it out. He was imaging injuries he wasn't getting; the pain felt real, in a way like he was recalling old wounds…His mind brought the image of the forbidden scroll to focus and the force of the memory made him come to a stop.

'_I'm not imagining what was happening in the smoke. I can see the memories from the clones who are still fighting!'_ Naruto created a clone then dispelled it, getting the message across to the few remaining clones.

Naruto heard the sound of kunai rushing through the air. He ran ahead to see Kakashi hanging upside down from a trap he had prepared earlier. With the prior pain gone, he was unable to resist gloating as he ran over to Kakashi. The words began to pour before he could stop them.

"Hey, Kakashi-Sensei, who could have placed all these traps all over the forest…I mean it's not like any of us had THREE HOURS TO DO WHATEVER WE WANTED!" He was laughed maniacaly when he noticed a small glisten. Upon further observation – mostly looking down – he noticed one of the bells had fallen off Kakashi's belt. Elated, Naruto went forward to retrieve it. But just as he reached for it, Naruto recalled Iruka-Sensei's lectures on traps and how if it looked too good to be true, it probably was.

Naruto created a clone to grab the bell for him. The result was disastrous as the clone ending up strung right next to Kakashi. Then the man disappeared in a billow of smoke. A fist emerged from the ground, and if it hadn't been for Naruto's bloodline, he would have been completely knocked unconsciousness. As it was, Naruto barely pulled his head back and out of the way. Too late, he realized, Kakashi was also throwing a kick straight into his gut. Thrown back into the trees, Naruto decided that enough was enough; he was going to need help, and he needed to catch up to his team mates. Limping away, he slowly started in the direction he had seen Sakura heading last.


	4. Kakashi's Test

Naruto was currently going the long way around the clearing, closing the distance between him and Sakura. He heard a girlish scream, causing him to falter as he awkwardly ran towards the source of the cry. Just as he stumbled upon Sakura, she sat up.

"Where am I? SASUKE-KUN!" Naruto quickly worked backwards and came up with a couple of conclusions as to why she was scared for the Uchiha and how she ended up where she was.

'_Okay…Off the top of my head I can see three options…One: the Uchiha and her were working together when they were attacked by Kakashi…Hell no, Sasuke would never accept help from Sakura-Chan. Two: having seen Kakashi attack Sasuke, she rushed in to help, before getting caught in the crossfire…Nah, she has too much faith in the Uchiha to ever think he'd need her help. Three: she got caught in a Genjutsu…He is a Jounin, so he probably knows quite a few that Sakura-Chan would fall for.'_

"Sakura-Chan, I think you were in a Genjutsu…I'm pretty sure Sasuke-Teme is fine…" She gave him an indignant and disbelieving look. "Okay, we can both search for him, and then maybe we can all work together to get those bells…" But by the look on her face, Sakura clearly didn't trust him.

"When we get them, maybe you should give me the bells Naruto-Kun. Kakashi might try to reclaim them, and he would never think to check me. In the end, we can all share the bells to graduate." Sakura gave him her best award winning smile. And if it wasn't for the fact that his bloodline was still active and what he had heard yesterday, he would have easily believed her.

Naruto grimaced, surprised by how fast she had taken advantage of his loudly proclaimed love for her before stabbing him in the back… '_If it makes her happy,'_ he sighed._ 'I've tried so hard, and I've gotten farther than ever…Another year with Iruka-Sensei wouldn't be so bad…'_

"I promise you, Sakura-Chan; I'll give you the bells."

They both worked their way to the clearing, hiding on its edge. They watched Sasuke launch a giant fireball. When the flames died down, Sasuke could be seen buried up to the neck in the ground. Kakashi turned northward before rushing off in that direction. Hurrying into the clearing, Naruto created a few clones to start digging the black haired boy out.

"Sasuke-Teme, all of us have faced him alone and failed. If we all use our own strengths to attack him together, maybe we could get the bells." He suddenly felt much slower and his leg flared up in pain. He must have stayed still too long and his bloodline was gone. "Sakura-Chan, Iruka-Sensei said you had the best written scores…Maybe you should make the tactical plan."

* * *

Naruto stood out in the open, standing with arms crossed and a very determined look, staring out accross the field, waiting for his sensei to appear. "I was starting to think you were smarter than this." Kakashi sighed as Naruto spun around already punching the spot where Kakashi's voice was. Kakashi wasn't there. "But then again, I guess not." Naruto legs were pulled out from underneath him sending him into a front flip. Naruto only just managed to get his arms up to block a kick to his chest. Naruto rolled across the ground, coming up to his feet in an instant, kunai already thrown. Kakashi caught it and rushed him, Naruto sprang backwards, triumphant look on his face as nets suddenly flung into the clearing to wear Kakashi was. Kakashi twisted through the air, nets flying both above and below him. Naruto had a brief moment of worry.

This moment ended the second Kakashi touched ground and it collapsed out from underneath him. Looks like Sakura was following her part. Kakashi just barely managed to do a split keeping himself from becoming impaled on the bamboo spikes Naruto had planted. Five Naruto popped out of similar traps in the ground, bum rushing Kakashi. Kakashi jumped into the air, destroying four of the clones with simultanious strikes from his limbs. The fifth managed to latch onto Kakashi's back, grinning in triumph. A giant fireball flew through the clearing, roaring at high speed into where the jonin had been standing. A brief flash of unimaginable heal told Naruto that at the very least the aim hadn't been off. But seeing as there was no sign of a charred corpse, where did he go?

Sakura and Sasuke both leaped backwards into the clearing, lining up back to back with Naruto as they watched their sectors. Who would have thought they could work together? Maybe there was something good about this after all. Naruto created a clone screen, a loose circle around them. "I was hoping to finish my chapter, but I think it's best to teach you brats a lesson." Naruto's mind spun looking for where the attack would come from.

"BELOW!" Sasuke yelled out jumping, Naruto and Sakura quickly jumped up, not even hesitating. Three pairs of hands groped where there feet had been seconds before. Three sets of three kunai ran the hands through as a poof on white smoke came from where they had just been.

Naruto tried to regroup with Sasuke and Sakura, but Kakashi was to fast. Every time he got close, a kunai or shurikan would send him retreating backwards. The same for Sasuke and Sakura. Finally Kakashi apparently ran out of weaponry and was left standing in a defensive position between the three of them. Naruto charged forward, as the other two mirrored him. Naruto went high as Sasuke went low. Sasuke slid beneath the jonin, trying to trap his legs. Kakashi jumped up, Sakura tried to stab Kakashi with a kunai only to be deflected and sent flying past him. Naruto came down on top of Kakashi only to meet a fist to the face. Damn his short arms!

Naruto skid across the ground and looked up just in time to see Kakashi land on Sasuke's stomach, smashing him into the ground. Kakashi spun around just in time to see Sakura of all people cut the chord holding the bells. They fell towards her hands, Naruto looked on in triumph only for it to be snatched away as Kakashi Kneed Sakura's face. She gave a little cry and crumpled ontop of Sasuke. Sasuke tried to catch the bells only to have his hand caught by Kakashi. The bells tumbled into the dirt and a kick to the face later and Sasuke was out. Naruto slowly raised himself to his feet and ran towards Kakashi. Kakashi just watched and let him come. Naruto tried to tackle Kakashi, to get him off of his comrades. Kakashi merely sighed and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket. He raised him into the arm as Naruto weakly grabbed Kakashi's arm. "You lose." Kakshi dragged him arm back. Naruto watched helplessly as the fist rapidly closed in on his face. Naruto watched as the hand came to a sudden stop a inch away from his face.

"What the?" Kakashi dropped him and it was only then that Naruto heard the alarm going off. Naruto had never been so relieved to hear an alarm before.

"Hmmm... Now who should I tie to the logs... You're the only one still conscious... But your also the only one who didn't even come close to these bells." Naruto looked at Kakashi grimly. "Well I guess that settles it then." Kakashi grabbed him by the back of the neck. Naruto struggled against the vise like grip that had him caught, but Kakashi was holding him away from his body. He slammed Naruto against the log before tieing him to it. "Now stay there, and I'll bring your classmates over.

Kakashi walked over and grabbed Sasuke and Sakura, there limp bodies just hanging from his arms. He dropped them next to Naruto. Kakashi scratched a message onto the ground just out of Naruto's line of sight. "I think I'm ready to take on a team this year, but I don't want all of you. I have picked Sasuke and Sakura. But I might be willing to pick you over them."

Kakashi slow drawl had Naruto listening like him life depended on it. "If one of them frees you from these ropes, all you have to do is defeat one of them, and you can have their spot." _Betray them so soon after they had helped him? Could he do that?_"That's the only way your not going back to academy, don't like it, you've chosen the wrong life." Naruto was so stunned, he couldn't even think of something to say. Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Like magic, Sakura and Sasuke started to groan and woke up.

Sakura was the first to stand up, though she had what looked to be a broken nose. That was unexpected. "What happened?" Naruto couldn't look at them. Sakura knelt beside Sasuke, lookin at him, completely ignoring her own nose. "Sasuke-Kun, Are you ok?" Sasuke got up and dusted himself up, ignoring the question.

"It seems Kakashi has chosen us." Sasuke was reading the message. Sasuke turned to leave as Sakura read the message out loud.

"Congratulations Sasuke and Sakura, you've made the cut, meet me back at the academy in five minutes. Don't be late or I might change my mind. P S, leave Naruto, I'm sure someone will collect the refuse eventually." Sasuke took another step as Sakura just stood looking from the message to Naruto.

"Sasuke... We can't just leave him here." What the hell?

Sasuke stopped, hesitating... "Fine, cut him loose and hurry up, he's waiting." Sakura reached for her kunai pouch to find it was missing.

"Sasuke, I don't have anything." Sasuke turned around and sighed. He grabbed what appeared to be his last kunai and it thudded into the log, the ropes fell loose from Naruto as both Sakura and Sasuke walked away. Naruto pulled the kunai from the log... With both of them unarmed it would be easy to do as Kakashi said. Naruto pulled his arm back, it wouldn't be too hard to get a nonlethal blow with neither of them even looking at him, Hell, he could probably even hit him with the ring instead of the blade... Naruto knew he shouldn't but he was close to being a ninja, just so close... It would be easy. Hell Sasuke was always a douchebag, and it would serve him right to do another year. Naruto might even be doing him a favor. Then it could be him and Sakura, rising through the ranks like shooting stars. It would be wonderful. Naruto could fee the desire to do so growing inside of him. It would be too easy. With a yell Naruto threw the kunai.

It thudded into a tree, as Naruto fell to his knees in defeat. He couldn't do it, he couldn't betray either of them.

Both of them turned around in surprise at his yell as a Swirl of leaves erupted in between them. "YOU! FOR BOTH OF YOU BEING LATE AND FOR NARUTO NOT FOLLOWING MY ORDERS, YOU WILL ALL... Pass." _SON OF A BITCH!  
_  
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all stared at Kakashi, jaws literally dropped by the sheer jackassery they just heard. Surprisingly it was Sakura who cracked first. She smashed her fist into a tree, and rather than the typical hand breaking, the tree swayed violently, as bits of bark flew off. Naruto was starting to wonder just how much she had been holding out on him... Had she been hiding that?

"Well how do I say this... You guys are the first. Everyone else would just do what I told them. They were all just morons." Kakashi seemed to be looking pass them, staring into the past. "A ninja must be able to see underneath the underneath. Where as it's true those who break the Shinobi rules are trash, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Naruto looked at Kakashi as if seeing him for the first time.

"Tomorrow Team Seven will start it's duties, don't be late!" Kakashi disappeared once again in a shower of leaves. Naruto was so happy he almost missed the fact their Sensei didn't tell them where or when to meet him!"

* * *

**Posted early because My internet keeps going down, no way to tell if I'll still have it tomorrow. Trying to get this out fast enjoy.**


	5. Time to Train

The next day, Naruto arrived at the training field to find that he was the first to arrive. He waited a few minutes before starting to stretch and prepare for the day's training. Just as he finished he saw Sasuke arrived, followed only shortly by Sakura. They just sat down, or leaned in Sasuke's case, while they waited for Kakashi to arrive.

The blonde continued warming up by going for a short run around the training field. Feeling rather good and refreshed from the run, he went ahead and did four more laps. Coming to a stop in front of his teammates, he noticed once more a distinct lack of his Sensei. Faced with the choice of either training himself, or wasting his time, he chose to train. He started with physical training and soon lost himself in the varying exercises. He always pushed himself, trying to get just one more rep, one more pound of weight, or five more seconds than what he did previously. He hadn't failed to do so since he first started. It wasn't always easy, but he did it, and that was what counted to him. Kakashi had arrived sometime later while he was training, and he became aware of this when a kunai went flying past his head.

"Naruto, it's time for the real training. Get over here." Naruto stopped what he was doing and walked over to Kakashi, noticing the distinct lack of Sasuke and Sakura. "Today we are doing some individual training. Fixing weaknesses and gaining strength. Out of the three of you, you are the one who most needs to fix his weaknesses. Your fighting style is ugly and almost completely useless; you have piss poor chakra control and absolutely no ability to use any Genjutsu and barely any ability to detect it; your Ninjutsu knowledge, is basic, if that, with the exception of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Your strengths are your endurance, physical strength, speed, cunning, stealth, traps, and a diehard-never-give-up attitude. These strengths are good, but with your weaknesses it might as well be a candle against a typhoon, you might last a few seconds if you're lucky, but eventually you will be snuffed out."

Naruto was not happy with this judgment, but seeing as it was more or less accurate, he kept his mouth closed and his comments to himself.

"We don't have the time to make you decent, it would take months that we don't have. You need to be up to speed and now, or you'll just be a burden. I've thought about it, and the best way to do this, is to get your bloodline to activate given a certain stimulus. So I've called in a few favors, and seeing as I don't really want to get in the middle of this," Kakashi puffed away in a cloud of smoke, exposing that he had, in fact, been a shadow clone the whole time.

Naruto looked around for a few seconds before a creepy feminine laugh washed over him. "Oh yum, yum, Kakashi-Kun left me a rabbit. He knows me so well…Actually, that will work well. Your codeword will be rabbit, got that Rabbit-Chan?"

"Now Rabbit-Chan, we are going to play a game... But which game should we play? I KNOW! LETS PLAY HIDE AND GO SEEK RABBIT-CHAN!" Naruto was really creeped out by not only her tone of voice, but that he had yet to locate where it was coming from. "If you live till tomorrow's sun rise, you win... But if you die, I WIN!" A kunai flew through the air with such speed Naruto only barely avoided dying right there and then. As it was he had a cut on his cheek that was oozing blood. "Fair warning, I hate to lose Rabbit-Chan. Now I'm going to count to one hundred Rabbit-Chan, you should run now." Naruto turned to run from the clearing. "One, Two, Skip a Few Ninety-Nine, ONE HUNDRED!"

Only the whizzing of a kunai told Naruto to drop. He hit the ground as a Kunai thudded into a tree in front of him. Naruto rolled across the ground as three more hit where he was just lying. Naruto felt like he was flying, and suddenly he was jumping into the air as more kunai flew just under him. Naruto drew A kunai and plunged it into a tree as he leapt past it, the resulting momentum slung him around the tree and careening on a different path as kunai started to rain down around him. apparently she had taken to the tree's as well.

Naruto twisted and ducked, ran, slid and jumped, trying to get away. Naruto wasn't sure when it happened, but he had somehow lost her in that mad dash for survival. Somewhere in there Naruto had also lost track of time, for where the sun had been, the moon now was. Naruto tried to estimate how much time he had left based on where the moon was in the sky.

"Would you look at that!" Naruto whirled to look behind him, bringing his hands up to defend himself. He almost cut his own arm, in his terror he had forgotten that he still had a kunai in his hands. He found nothing, but the voice was clearly coming from in front of him now. "Rabbit-Chan wants to look at the moon. Rabbit-Chan should be careful, a snake my sneak up and-" The voice switched from in front of him to behind him. "EAT HIM!" Naruto dived forward as he heard the sound of teeth smashing together where he just was. He turned to find a snake bigger than a man rearing back to strike at him again. Naruto jumped backwards only to hit his head on something soft.

Hands wrapped around him and pulled him in deeper to the soft things. "Awww Rabbit-Chan, you shouldn't get so cuddly with Anko, she might eat you too." Naruto realized that he was currently in the embrace of the very woman he had been running from. And His head was currently nestled in between her breasts."

Naruto created a clone and substituted with it, a moment later he felt teeth gash into his neck and fluid rush into his veins. The burning sensation lasted only a brief second before cutting off. Naruto grabbed at his neck as he ran. His skin was intact to his relief. Remembering pain wasn't as bad as living it. Thank God for Shadow Clones. Naruto tore through the underbrush, as he could hear laughter behind him. He turned to look behind him, and that is when the ground went out from underneath him. HE RAN HIMSELF OFF A CLIFF! Naruto created shadow clones as he rushed to the ground, as they tried to throw him back up into the air. ALl they did was make smashing into a tree a little less painful. That combined with the memories of the clones who didn't have the same deseleration force was to much for Naruto's body to handle. Naruto's world went dark.

LB!

Naruto groaned and wondered why his sheets were so tight. Sun beams were hitting his face, but Naruto couldn't roll over to face away from them. In exasperation Naruto finally opened his eyes. That's when he figured out his sheets was a snake coiled around him. It's jaw opened up as it got closer and closer to Naruto. What a way to go, swallowed whole by a giant snake. Naruto closed his eyes and waited.

The tightening presence vanished and Naruto fell from the trees, smashing through small branches and bouncing off of limbs that were to big for him to break. Naruto broke the branch line and careened towards the ground face first. For the second Time Naruto flinched away from the inevitable as his arms rushed up to do anything to stop the resulting end. Naruto stopped short, a wrist holding onto his foot. He was dangling a foot of the ground, held up effortlessly by the crazy snake lady. "Well Rabbit-Chan, that was fun. Go home Gaki, I want you to be ready for our next game. Same time tomorrow, don't be late." With that she dropped him on his face and walked away. Naruto picked himself up, and started the long limp home.

LB!

Naruto toiled during those first few weeks. When he wasn't getting mauled by the crazy snake lady, he was doing team exercises, when he wasn't doing either of those he was doing D-rank missions, which he sort of liked because it gave him time to relax and rest after what he had had to go through.

He hadn't even seen his house in the last few days. The first morning, he figured he'd just sleep five more minutes... Five more minutes had turned into a few more hours. He had almost missed the code word. Then in his panic, he almost died from the kunai launcher he set off, and, from there, the traps had only gotten worse every morning thereafter. apparently being late once meant he needed a new alarm clock. A deadlier one. He had finally had enough and started to set up camp in random training grounds, in hope that he'd wake up without hearing that awful word. It was futile, as she always found him, but the hope it gave him every night was worth the effort.

Naruto picked the last piece of trash out of the water, as Sakura and Sasuke finished their ends as well. "Alright, mission complete, you guys are dismissed, I'll go turn it in." Kakashi disappeared without a word.

"HEY! Um... Why don't we go get lunch, or something... You know, Team bonding! I'LL BUY!" Naruto could barely keep the frantic desperation out of his voice

'_Please! PLEASE! Maybe SHE will leave me in peace today if I'm with witnesses!  
_

Sasuke merely grunted, but didn't walk away. Sakura nodded her head once, after seeing Sasuke wasn't against it. "GREAT! Err…Do you guys mind if we go to Ichiraku's, it's really good!" Seeing that they were not against it, he led the way to the greatest place on earth.

LB!

**A/N The first time through I followed the typical fan girl path, That was a mistake on my path, Sakura is so much more than that. She's a genius, maybe not to the Nara standards, but still a prodigy worthy of her own mention. Sakura knows exactly what's shes gotten herself into, and she's willing to put her life on the line. But she's got slightly different motives then most shinobi. She's not a glory hound, she doesn't need to be the strongest, though she needed to make sure she got put on a team with her Sasuke-Kun. She's smart enough to do research on how the teams are built. She probably didn't anticipate Naruto passing, but then again who did? **

**Further more whats her goal? Sasuke. What do guy's hate? To have their ego bashed. So Sakura hid her true strength behind a fan girl shield. Thanks to Narutos conversation, she's stopped hiding. Look forward to a stronger Sakura, straight from the start.**

**My goal is to make these Characters more than what Kishimoto showed them to be, I like to see the best in people, and I try to make every character more than the support characters Kishi made them into. Everyone of them is main character potential, and I will do my best to ensure they take their spot in the sunlight.**

**I must admit I forgot how much I like Kakashi, one of my army values is Integrity, doing what's right, both morally and legally, no matter what. I've always thought of this as the most important Value, but I've always disagreed with the meaning. Legality has nothing to do with what's doing the right thing. Sometimes doing the right thing means breaking a few rules.**

**I can't begin to describe how disappointed I was to not get a single review for the last chapter, Was it that bad, or was it just so lack luster it needed no comment? Please review! MY EGO NEEDS THEM!**


	6. Behind The Mask Part 1

They sat down at Ichiraku's an awkward silence settling between them. They were sitting at the bar, Naruto was sitting in his favorite chair with Sakura and Sasuke on his left. Besides missions and arguing, they didn't really say very much. With neither of these two taking place, they sat... In silence... "Well hello there! Welcome to Ichiraku's, my name is Ayame, can I help you with anything?" Ayame quickly got their drink orders and disappeared into the back.

Naruto picked up a menu to stall for time, the other two followed suit. Naruto didn't know if he should enjoy his few minutes of freedom, or be depressed that his team was this detached from each other. "Soooo... How's your family Sakura?" Naruto tried to make small talk, not something he was very skilled at.

"They are in good health..." Sakura squirmed a little bit... Why would this conversation make her uncomfortable? She picked up a glass that had somehow materialized since Naruto had last looked at the table. Ayame was a professional at her job, just as stealthy as a ninja, invisible, but there if you needed her. The perfect waitress.

"Well that's great..." Sasuke... Learn any new jutsu?" Sasuke just stared at Naruto. That slightly pissed Naruto off. They all went back to looking at their menu's... This was turning into a disaster.

"Can I get your order's?" Ayame for the save!

"Hmmm, Why Yes, I think I'll take a pork please." Naruto, Sakura's and Sasuke's heads all shot up and looked to their right. Kakashi had snuck up on them and taken the open seat next to Naruto. Kakashi let out a quiet chuckle. "What?"

Naruto exchanged looks with his teammates before shrugging. "I'd like three miso please!"

"Beef." Typical Sasuke.

"I'd also like a beef ramen if you please." Typical Sakura.

"Alright, I'll be right back with your orders, let me know if you need anything." Ayame walked into the kitchen. In less than a second, Kakashi pulled out his book. Why even join them if he was just going to read?! Alright, just for this, it was time for Kakashi to experience the wrath of the prank master... And what better way than to get a picture of his face without the famed mask? Naruto could make a fair amount of money off of that too, so it was dual purpose! First things first was to get his team mates in on this.

Naruto let one hand slide off the bar, keeping it out of sight from his sensei. He thought about the hand signs they had been learning. They were still pretty rudimentary. Naruto formed the handseals for No, Cover, Face, Team Leader. Sakura and Sasuke looked at him, confused. Naruto jerked his head at Kakashi, and then looked away from Kakashi and made a coughing sound while he made a motion like he was pulling down a mask. Sasuke glared at him while Sakura did the same. But the tips of her mouth momentarily formed a smile before being forced back into a frown. So Sakura was in, Sasuke would follow suit if for nothing else than to settle his curiosity.

"Naruto... It's very unlike you to ignore your ramen..." Naruto froze at Kakashi's voice, were they caught already? Naruto turned to his ramen, and quickly dived in, while watching Kakashi, who was just sitting there reading.

Naruto palmed a camera, and got ready to react with lightning speed. He would get that shot if it was the last thing he did.

"You guys are awfully silent... And Naruto ignored his ramen... What are you guys up to?"

Naruto stiffened for half a second, before quickly speaking up. "WE ARE ENJOYING THE GREAT AND TASTY RAMEN! NO INFIDEL WOULD DARE DENY IT'S GREATNESS! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto wasn't sure when it happened, but he was standing on his stool, hand pointed in the air, a foot on the counter.

"Naruto... What did I tell you about disturbing the customers?" Naruto looked to see Ayame holding a rolling pin, the tone in her voice leaving no room for argument. To save himself from the beating that was ure to come, Naruto quickly got down and begged for forgiveness. Now for the big reveal! Kakashi leaned back from an empty bowl, patting his stomach. Naruto turned to see if anyone had managed to catch him. Sakura and Sasuke were glaring at him, as he had effectively blocked their view. Ayame was staring at Kakashi with more than a tiny blush, her hand covering her mouth as she let out a giggle... A GIGGLE! AYAME NEVER GIGGLED!

Team seven stared at their sensei, more than a little bit disappointed. "What something wrong?"

"No, no sensei, we were just... ummmm..." Sakura tried to come up with a decent lie. "Well you know."

Kakashi stared at her before nodding sagely. "I do indeed, but I am surprised you do, I guess youth today is truly corrupted." Kakashi sighed while Sakura twitched "Well, I've got to be running, old ladies in need of my help and all." Sakura burst from her stool, Naruto tackled her and was surprised by the amount of difficulty he was having in holding her back. "Have a good day you guys..." Kakashi walked out of the stall before disappearing. Not turning the corner or anything, but literally just vanishing from sight. Damn that was cool.

Letting go of Sakura Naruto started to apologize. "Hey Sakura-Chan, I'm really sor" Naruto got a fist to the face for his troubles.

"NAAAARUUUTO!" Naruto flew from the stall, and Sakura followed. Sasuke followed a few seconds later.

"Cool it, we still have a mission to complete." Oh so Sasuke was in heh? Well who was he to say no to the Uchiha heir?

"THAT DOES IT! NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME FROM SEEING THAT FACE!"

Sakura looked at him, not at all amused by his enthusiasm. "Yea but how? You got any ideas?"

"Don't you worry, we'll see it... One way or another, oh we will see it!" Naruto laughed as lightning cracked through the air and thunder boomed.

Sakura smashed her fist against his face throwing him to the ground. "I'M ASKING YOU HOW YOU DUMB-ASS!"

Naruto slowly got up rubbing his cheek. "Well how do you propose to do it."

Surprisingly it was Sasuke who answered. "We'll just trail him around town for the day, he's bound to take off his mask eventually."

Not the fastest of ways, but probably their best shot.

* * *

The first issue had been finding their sensei, from there it had been staying as invisible as possible. It's pretty damn hard to avoid a jonin's senses, but Naruto had years of practice and Sakura and Sasuke were no push overs when it came to stealth. Kakashi stopped suddenly, turning to look at a bookstore. He scoped it out, before quickly rushing inside. He walked out holding a red book. He was reading it as avidly as he normally read his orange one. They still couldn't afford to relax. He could easily catch them if they made a mistake.

Kakashi turned the corner and they quickly jumped positions, before they even got to the next point of cover, they could already tell it was pointless. Kakashi had vanished from the street. Kakashi must have been in a real hurry to disappear like that.

"Well, well... What do we have here? Three cute genin in need of their sensei's assistance?" Kakashi was smiling at them, but their was a low amount of killing intent

"Ahe... Um... Kakashi-Sensei, we were just um..." Sakura started, stumbling as her nervousness blocked her brilliant mind from coming up with a plausible excuse.

"LOOKING FOR YOU! Yes... We were looking for you, we wanted you to um..." Naruto hit a brick wall.

"Assist us in our training." Sasuke finished it up with the only logical reason for them to be looking for their sensei.

"Is that so... You want training from me... On your own free time... As a team?" Kakashi stared them down, killing intent rising slowly.

"HELL YEA! TEACH US HOW TO BE BAD ASS NINJA SENSEI!" Naruto shot in, thinking that as long as they were already in neck deep, might as well go all in.

"Ok then." The killing intent vanished. But so did their sensei. "First you have to find me. Where foxes play with hounds, and duck's fight with geese, and bugs and cherry blossoms dance through the air. Nothing is as it seems, and yet it is as easy as counting the number of legs on a spider. Better do a little recon before you walk into it's web though. I hope I havn't been too obvious, oh... You'll have opposition, if, and only if you manage to overcome it, then I'll train you. Tick tock, times turns the clock, better move little one's, one doesn't have all day."

"Team eight" All three of them said at once and looked at each other at once. Naruto's teammates looked at him prompting him to speak first. "Ummmm. Kiba and I had a bit of a rivalry, as a prankster, I kinda identify with foxes, and you'd have to be an idiot not to see Kiba as a hound. Shino is bugs, and Sakura is clearly the petals. That makes Sasuke the duck, which by the way is funny as hell, only thing I don't understand is why Hinata's a goose?"

Sakura nodded and added in. "Spiders have eight legs, So team eight, which is primarily a recon team."

Sasuke just simply shrugged. "The only opposition he'd set us against is another rookie genin team, and there's no way it'd be team ten. Let's move out."

* * *

Naruto and co arrived in the middle of training ground 8 to find... Nothing. They scanned around them, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Alright what the fuck! WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!" Only training against the crazy snake lady allowed him to sense the miniscule amount of killing intent that radiated from directly in front of them. But that had to be wrong, they'd have to be invisible... Oh. "SAKURA-CHAN!" Her hands were already in the ram seal, a small surge of chakra was just enough to throw of the delicate balance of the genjutsu.

"KAI!" Sakura shattered the Genjutsu and Team Seven found themselves to be surrounded. Kiba was already rushing forward in a devastating tornado of death. Bugs cut off their escape on all sides. Hinata was missing from Naruto's eyes, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. Sasuke rushed towards the tornado and slid underneath it. Naruto followed after, heading for the only exit. Naruto pushed himself off the ground only only just miss Kiba. A second tornado which had been traveling in the blind spot created by Kiba slammed into him sending him flying through the air. Naruto let out a cry of pain as he finally spun away from the tornado. Naruto hit the ground with a thud, Kiba spun away from him, and Akamaru was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto's quick survey showed Sasuke was exchanging words with Hinata, who stood very still. Sasuke said something else and suddenly Hinata started to shake. Naruto thought Sasuke might be overdoing it with the intimidation, but if it helped them win... It still wasn't right, maybe Nartuo should tell him to lay off. Hinata burst forward, taking both him and Sasuke by surprise. He got an eyeful of Sasuke being completely outmaneuvered by a very very angry Hinata who was a flurry of strikes. Guess still waters hide deep depths. Still Naruto needed to keep an eye out for...

Naruto rolled away as another tornado slammed into the area he was just occupying. They were not playing around. At least they were content to attack one on one. That means one of them might be able to win their fight fast enough to help the others. Naruto dodged another tornado, wincing as it took him further from his team. Or maybe that was team eights plan.

Naruto created a mass of clones and quickly disappeared in the mob. He needed to get an eye on what was happening to everyone, and figure out how he was going to kick Kiba's ass. He needed time and space. Naruto had a few clones make for the trees, most were destroyed by Akamaru, but a few managed to get through. Naruto replaced himself, breathing a sigh of relief. Naruto found himself to be uncomfortably close to Shino and Sakura.

"The battle ends when you pick a glass and we both drink, whoever is left standing wins." Shino and Sakura starred each other down from across a picnic table. Sakura was up to something, Naruto was sure.

Shino nodded. "A sound challenge. Though I must admit Haruno-San, Challenging a Aburame to a logic puzzle is not the wisest of choices."

Sakura smiled and nodded before pulling two cups out of seemingly nowhere. Sakura took the cups and hid them behind her back. She then did something to them that Naruto couldn't see, before placing them back on the table. She placed one in front of Shino, and one in front of herself. "Let the battle of logic begin."

On the other side of the field Sasuke was seriously getting his ass kicked all around the field. What had he done to piss Hinata off so much? She wasn't even using chakra to enhance her blows, or it would have been over for Sasuke along time ago. She was just taking Sasuke down with the fury of a womans wrath, note to self, never ever piss off Hinata.

A particularly savage slap knocked Sasuke completely off balance and sent him carrening into the dirt. Sasuke rolled to avoid a particularly savage kick, who knew sweet little Hinata could be so brutal.

Finally at yet another part of the field, Naruto's clones were dying many hero's deaths as they tried to buy Naruto more time. He turned just in time to see Sakura drink from her glass and start laughing hysterically. "YOU FELL FOR THE CLASSIC BLUNDER! ONLY A SLIGHT BIT LESS FAMOUS THAN NEVER INTERRUPT A NARA'S NAP, AND ONLY SLIGHTLY MORE FAMOUS THAN NEVER TAKING A HYUUGA'S CINNAMON BUN! NEVER FIGHT A HARUNO IN A BATTLE OF WITS WHEN LOVE IS ON THE LINE!" She laughed for a few seconds more before falling over, bugs swarming over her.

"S-s-shi-no y-you chea-ted!" Shino merely stood up and walked over to her.

"No, I merely outninjad you. My objective was only to allow my allies to get closer to you. They shall neutralize your poison, and then I shall rejoin my team. Thank you Haruno-San for the amusing diversion." Shino turned to leave, he made it about three steps before falling over himself. Sakura tried to crawl towards him, but only made it a few inches. Finally she looked right at Naruto, at least he could of sworn she was looking him in the eyes. Her mouth moved slowly, and Naruto couldn't be sure but he thought he got the word she was trying to say before she succumbed to her exhaustion. Without thinking, Naruto followed her last conscious wish.

"SASUKE! SWITCH!" Two seemless replacement techniques activated at the same time allowed them to instantaneously switch positions. When the smoke cleared, he stood looking at a blushing Hinata, who's outstretched hand had stopped in mid attack, It seemed to almost caress his cheek. "Um... Hinata-Chan?" With a shriek Hinata promptly fell over herself trying to back away, in fact she did fall over herself, and somehow ended up unconscious on the ground.

While that was very cute and all, Hinata should not have been so overcome by the element of surprise like that! Any ninja could do that, how could she fall so easy! Naruto would have to make sure to destroy that kinda reaction to surprise. BELIEVE IT! He could think of quite a few ways to break Hinata of it, he was looking forward to the look on her face, it would be hilarious and cute! Why was Hinata suddenly cute? He was broken from his chain of thoughts by two whistling objects hurtling through the air towards him. Noticing that they would miss, he stayed where he was. When the objects didn't get back up he realized his guard slightly.

Two thuds made furloughs in the ground on either side of Naruto. Sasuke strode over, clearly pissed the hell off after his beating. He had clearly not held back at all on Kiba and Akamaru, poor guys. Sasuke looked around the field, clearly unimpressed as he waited for Kakashi. "Umm... I guess I'll get Sakura-Chan." Sasuke simply did his signature 'Hnn' sound and continued to stand there in his annoying slouch. God Sasuke was a douchebag,

Naruto walked over to where Sakura lay. She at least had managed to take down her opponent. Even as she lost consciousness her last thought had been to help her team mates. All Naruto had done was get his ass beaten up and watch. Naruto couldn't help but look at the distance between Kiba and himself, and see the distance Between Sasuke and Kiba. Naruto hadn't been able to do anything but stall for time and run from Kiba, and yet there he was, knocked the hell out in less than five seconds. Even with Sasuke getting the drop on them, it was still impressive.

That just meant Naruto had to work harder. There were no shortcuts, and Naruto was going to make it straight to the top. Sasuke had better look out, Uzumaki Naruto was going to surpass him or die trying.

"Well... That was interesting." Naruto spun around to see Kakashi standing there. He already had Sakura in his arms. How had he? No matter. "I'm going to take Sakura to the hospital. You two head on home. Get some food and rest. After all, tomorrow we start the real training." Kakshi disappeared into a vortex of leaves. Before Naruto could even turn he knew Sasuke had already walked out of the field. Hell somehow Team eight had even disappeared... "Ok, this is way too creepy."

"Awww but Goldie-Kun, I thought you liked creepy." Naruto ran, he ran like the devil was behind him. "COME BACK RABBIT-CHAN!" No... There was something far worse.

* * *

**Ran out of time here, I made it too the whiskey side of my training, and damn is it hard. It's taking alot of my attention. On the plus side it's time for christmas exodus, but I won't really be spending alot of that writing I'm sorry to say.**

**I managed to add in a few scenes I always wanted too but never got a chance, but I kinda feel like it's rushed. Like It could be so much better. Especially that fight with team eight. It should last longer, but for the life of me, I can't tell how. At this point in time Kiba kicks Naruto's ass every time, nothing can withstand an angry hyuuga, and Shino would never take very long to defeat Sakura. Not that Sakura isn't a beast, Shino is just the wrong opponent for her. Her tijutsu isn't good enough and her chakra supplies are good, but not up to par with her peers. TO even draw with Shino is still a major accomplishment from someone who will only grow stronger. Next chapter begins wave, I hope you all enjoy.**

**Hehe... Um... Well we caught up to where I am... My last three weeks took up to much of my time and now I'm out of play room lol... Oh well... The show will go on!**


	7. Discontinued

This is something I didn't want to have to put out... This story... it's like a chore, something I write because I have to. The truth of the matter is that between basic and ait, I've lost all touch with this story. I don't know where it was going, I don't know what I was trying to say, I don't even know the characters anymore. There are some small changes I would make, but ultimately it's just revising the original, which I don't want to spend time doing to be honest.

I'm sorry I couldn't deliver on my promise, and I'm sorry that I'm leaving this unfinished.  
If anyone would like to pick up the mantle, let me know, and you can have the story.

For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry.


End file.

Naruto